Dark History - 189: The Wicked Truth Behind Hollywood’s Favorite Movie - The Wizard of Oz

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

Hi, friends! Happy Wednesday! You’ve seen The Wizard of Oz... the ruby slippers, the Yellow Brick Road, the flying monkeys… But you've also heard rumblings of some dark rumors, haven't you? Well, behind all that glitter and Technicolor magic was a nightmare of toxic makeup, real fires, starvation diets, terror in Munchkinland and a studio system that nearly killed a teenage Judy Garland. In today’s episode of Dark History, let's follow the (bloodsoaked?) yellow brick road backstage to uncover the shocking truth behind one of Hollywood’s most iconic movies. From the Tin Man’s near-death experience to the Witch catching fire on set (literally), to asbestos snow and all sorts of horrible abuse — this is the wicked story of The Wizard of Oz that MGM never wanted you to hear. ________ FOLLOW ME AROUND Tik Tok: https://bit.ly/3e3jL9v Instagram: http://bit.ly/2nbO4PR Facebook: http://bit.ly/2mdZtK6 Twitter: http://bit.ly/2yT4BLV Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2mVpXnY Youtube: http://bit.ly/1HGw3Og Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3IVnO7N Snapchat: https://bit.ly/3cC0V9d Discord: https://discord.gg/BaileySarian RECOMMEND A STORY HERE: [e-mail] Business Related Emails: [e-mail] Business Related Mail: Bailey Sarian 4400 W. Riverside Dr., Ste 110-300 Burbank, CA 91505 ________ This podcast is Executive Produced by: Bailey Sarian and Joey Scavuzzo Head Writer: Allyson Philobos Senior Writer: Katie Burris Research provided by: Xander Elmore Director: Brian Jaggers Additional Editing: Julien Perez and Maria Norris  Hair: Angel Gonzalez Makeup: Nikki la Rose ________ Get started today at StitchFix.com/darkhistory to get $20 off your first order—and they’ll waive your styling fee. That’s StitchFix.com/darkhistory The best way to cook just got better. Go to HelloFresh.com/DARKHISTORY10FM now to Get 10 Free Meals + a Free breakfast for Life! One per box with active subscription. Free meals applied as discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. That’s HelloFresh.com/DARKHISTORY10FM to Get 10 Free Meals + free breakfast for Life. Shop my favorite pajamas at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you! Select "podcast" in the survey and be sure to select our show in the dropdown menu that follows And if you’re looking for the perfect gifts for everyone on your list - the SKIMS Holiday Shop is now open at SKIMS.com. Check out squarespace.com/DARKHISTORY for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, use OFFER CODE: DARKHISTORY to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Listen, for years and years, I've always heard a crazy rumor about one of my favorite movies of all time, The Wizard of Oz. I mean, it's one of the most iconic movies ever made, right? You've seen it, most likely. Maybe you've cried. You've probably had maybe a little gay awakening because of the whole Galinda Elphaba thing. The Shoes maybe even did it? I don't know. I don't know your life.

Now, some people online were saying that in the original release of the movie, just as Dorothy is about to skip down the yellow brick road, There's a scene where you can see someone in the background that looks to be hanging from a tree dead. Oh, you probably heard this rumor. Listen, after I did some digging, I concluded that this rumor was a total lie. I'm so sorry. I know. You're already out. Listen.

It opened the door for like a ton of behind the scenes drama I had no idea about because the Wizard of Oz might look like a, you know, a sparkly, just beautiful fantasy. But behind the scenes, when they were like making the movie, things got dark. People were getting rushed to the hospital. They were near-death accidents, starvation diets, physical abuse, and poisonous snow. Now this movie came out in the 30s, and to this day we still hear rumors about the Wizard of Oz. I mean, they just like have never stopped. And you know what that means? There's got to be some kind of truth within the rumors, right?

So today, we're following the yellow brick road all the way backstage to set the record straight about the actors, the makeup, and the learning lessons, shall we say, behind the movie that changed Hollywood forever. So grab your oil can, because this one's going to get pretty wet, pretty well. Welcome to the dark history of the Wizard of Oz. Hi, friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Here, we believe history does not have to be boring.

It might be tragic. Sometimes it's happy. But either way, it's our Dark History. Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe. I'm always posting new content and let me know what you think down in the comment section down below. I read comments at the end.

Yes, I do. Now, let's get into it, shall we? Obviously, if you're watching on YouTube, you can see that we dressed up. Dorothy, of course. Wicked Witch. Paul. I mean, oh, I'm sorry.

What's your name? Joan. Wicked Witch, Joan. And then we have Paul as Glinda. Is it Glinda? Or just like, toddlers and tiaras. But either way, I love it. We look great, don't we?

I know. I love The Wizard of Oz. Growing up, if you have kids at home, you know how kids like to watch the same movie over and over and over again? When I was visiting my nephews, it was trolls too. I watched it five times in one day with them, and I was going mental.

Well, for me, growing up, it was the Wizard of Oz. When I was a kid, I watched it all day, every day. I was Dorothy. You can't tell me otherwise. So I love this movie. Okay? I just had to let you know. Anywho, listen, we found some secrets, though.

Here's the thing. When The Wizard of Oz came out in 1939, it actually didn't perform very well. Oh, yeah, I know. I was like, what? Not because it was a bad movie, obviously. It had decent reviews, but it was not set up for success for a few reasons.

First of all, the budget. So the studio that made the movie was MGM. And MGM had a budget of about $2.8 million to make this movie, which in 1939, $2.8 million was like buying, you could buy a small country for that price. And today's money would be over $60 million. And listen, this was like for what they were considering

like a children's fantasy musical, which was a very niche, genre. Now, when it opened in theaters, audiences were mostly kids, right? But back then, children's tickets were affordable. It was like 10 to 25 cents to go see a movie. Could you imagine? What that means is that they were never going to make, you know, the money back on kids' tickets alone. So MGM dumped money into like a huge promotional campaign to get adults to go and see it, you know? Now, they were thinking. okay listen like maybe we'll make up a lot of the money in international sales but you

know that was not the case because someone stopped the Wizard of Oz from premiering in Europe any guesses Joan no not Charlie Chaplin similar mustache though it was Hitler yeah I know he ruins everything man ah so talk about bad timing Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939. And literally days after the movie's U.S. premiere, World War II started up. So, yeah, you know, Europe was on fire. Movie theaters across the continent either shut down or stopped showing American movies completely. Obviously, they were focused on something else.

So the movie didn't turn a real profit until it was re-released in 1949 10 years later. This worked out, okay? Because now people were ready and people became obsessed. Then starting in 1959, the Wizard of Oz aired on television once a year. Now, this was like a new concept and studios were nervous about TV when it first came to be a thing because it was brand new and they were thinking that, you know, TV's probably going to kill the movie business. So MGM, given props for this, kind of like, think. thinking ahead of the game here, they licensed the Wizard of Oz to CBS, and they were like, let's just try this out and see how it does. Like, could a movie work on TV? So the first airing on television happened

on November 3rd, 1959. And once again, like, it was a hit. Some sources claim that 45 million people tuned in just to watch it. So that's a lot of people, and CBS, was like, let's do that again. We're on it back. And they made it a yearly tradition. For millions of people, this made The Wizard of Oz like their favorite movie. Now, when the Wizard of Oz was on TV, this was like a special occasion. Families planned their whole evening around the show coming

on to TV. Kids, you know, got to stay up late. You popped popcorn. You gathered around in the living room, you know, from TV, and you would watch the Wizard of Oz and enter the little magical world of Oz. I mean, it wasn't just a movie, it was the movie. Now, listen, great, we love the movie, but the Wizard of Oz was also, like, pretty revolutionary from a movie perspective. First of all, I've got two words for you. Or it might be one word. Technicolor. Oh, what's that? I don't know. Okay, well, Technicolor was the first major color film process in Hollywood.

Now, before that, most movies were black and white, a few were in color, but nothing was like Technicolor. Because Technicolor used three separate film strips, red, green, and blue, and then they combined them into one full color image. Essentially, this gave movies like a hyper-saturated, dream. like Dorothy's ruby slippers, the Yellow Brook Road, the poppies, everything looked vivid and surreal because it was. Technicolor wasn't realistic, it was highly saturated and vibrant. I mean, this is like the first time people are seeing something like this. It was incredible. So not only did Technicolor make the Wizard of Oz legendary, but also

the drama, the theories, the chaos, all of that. Listen, you've probably heard a lot of, like, different rumors about what went down on set. But the truth is actually much crazier than any of the rumors. So, let's be real. Shopping is not as easy or fun as it sounds. I want to look put together, but every time I go to the store, I end up leaving with nothing. Nothing. I get overwhelmed.

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That's stitchfix.com slash dark history. So part of the lore around the Wizard of Oz was that it had memorable everything. The music, the costumes, the set. Incredible. The quotes. Auntie M! Antium! Love that part.

Every time I'm in front of a door and it's locked, I'm always like, Auntie M! Antium! I quote The Wizard of Oz a lot in my life. but you know there seemed to be like a cursed production now let's start with my favorite subject the makeup because the makeup on the wizard of Oz you know it was incredible from the tin man to the scarecrow the lion the wicked witch of the east or west i'm not sure what location i it was incredible but what we don't know was that a lot of this makeup was trial and air okay it was one big learning lesson.

So starting with the first tin man. I'm oiling myself like the tin man. Okay. I know you might be thinking like, wait, what do you mean the first tin man? Listen, originally the role was supposed to be played by this guy named Buddy Ebson, who, fun fact, became famous later on

on the Beverly Hillbillies. Did you ever watch that? I watched that too, yeah. Didn't age well. So for the Tin Man, the makeup department used face paint, clown white face paint, the type of makeup used by circus clowns.

And then what they would do is dust aluminum particles on top of that and it would like stick to, you know, the face paint. And this gave Buddy that aluminum look. So they're doing that right? and it's working. It looks great. But over the course of filming, you know, touch-ups have to happen. So Buddy was dusted many times.

And after about 10 days of this, he literally seized up at home. Like the tin man. I know. His hands and his arms, legs, feet, I guess we're all cramping. And he was having difficulty breathing. method acting I thought no reaction yeah so listen he was having some kind of a reaction to that aluminum situation so he was rushed to the hospital where it was discovered that he the aluminum dust was not good for him all that makeup you know when he was applying it it was being

inhaled and it had coated like his lungs like glue buddy ended up in an iron lung for weeks and almost died over makeup oopsie that fine metallic dust used like an application it can it it can and it did in this case coat the lungs and it led to like inflammation fluid build up and a condition known as chemical pneumitis basically like the lungs start to drown themselves trying to like fight this intruder It wasn't good. It wasn't good. So poor buddies' medical costs, they weren't even covered by MGM,

and he reportedly suffered from breathing issues for the rest of his life. I mean, we take it for granted now. Because back then, they didn't know like this would happen. They're just like making it work. But now it's like we have all these, you know, rules and regulations when it comes to makeup. And thank God we do, because you don't want something like this happening with a loose powder. You know what I'm saying? Anyways, MGM was kind of like, oopsie.

Sorry about that. And they replaced the original tin man with a man named Jack Haley. And thankfully, they like changed the formula, the makeup formula a bit. So instead of using loose powder, they used an aluminum paste. It still wasn't great because it ended up giving Jack a serious eye infection. yeah so if you actually watch the movie now that they got like all this 4k and stuff you can see if you look in his eyes one of his eyes is like irritated and red he's like he's like that's a tin man but listen like that's not that's not that bad compared to everyone else well is it that other guy

ended up in an iron lung so i recant that statement but the tin man that was just the beginning Okay. Now, the Wicked Witch was played by the absolute icon Margaret Hamilton, and her green skin was not CGI or anything like that. It was a green grease paint that was copper-based. Again, they didn't know. Trial and air, okay? Turns out it was toxic, okay? So it was hard for her to like eat safely on set because like even if she got a little bit of that paint in her mouth, it could cause severe internal. damage. Margaret was a professional. She took all the precautions she needed to. That is until the fire. There's a scene early in the movie. It takes place in Munchkin land where the wicked witch disappears in a puff of like flame and smoke. To make this happen, there was like a trap door that Hamilton would stand on. Then like on set, you know, they would release like a cloud

of smoke and the trap door would like open up or drop and Margaret would kind of like fall below stage or whatever and then flames would go off on on top and it was like wow magic right so they try it it goes fine and then they do a second take and then things went wrong on the second take the smoke came out on cue the elevator dropped but the flame was released a second too quickly. So Margaret, she was on stage when the freaking flames went off. When those sparks hit Margaret, her broom, her hat, and her face went up in flames. Okay. Now obviously Margaret is on set. She's frantic. Okay, she's on fire. Hi. So people are like trying to put blankets on her to get the flames out. But there was a problem. Even after the flames were put out, the heat,

from the copper in her green makeup continued to burn her skin off slowly and painfully. That's because this grease paint and the copper oil and all that, it locked in heat. So even though the flames were out, it was still heating up and like just locked in her in her skin. Margaret suffered severe second degree burns to her face and a third degree burn on her right hand. I mean anything but the face. Come on. So after six weeks, Margaret returns to the movie set. Her hands, they were still bandaged, and her skin was still healing.

So she ended up wearing like a green glove on her burned hand instead of makeup. Poor thing. Now, her first day back was a scene where she's supposed to be like riding her broom in the air. It's the scene in the movie where she spells out with her broom. surrender Dorothy and she's like okay great you know that morning a production assistant comes up to her and was like hey so do you want your regular costume or your fireproof costume and Margaret was like why would I want a fireproof costume I'm just like writing a broom right right so he explains that yeah you're going to write a broom but um the broom's going to have smoke come out of it so

I just want to let you know. So again, Margaret is in full, like, flammable, toxic green makeup near fire once again. So she puts her foot down. She tells them, I do not want to be near fire. Did you not just see what happened? Like, what are you thinking? Now, of course, you know how it goes. Anytime you try to speak up for yourself, people are like, don't work.

No, no, no, no, no, no, don't worry. It's a very simple shot. Everything is going to be fine. The flames are coming out behind you. Like, don't worry. Don't worry. All you have to do is sit on a broom. That's all we're asking.

You know, she's like, I don't know. I don't know. So for the scene, she would be like 10 or 15 feet in the air, and she'd be sitting on like a steel saddle. Okay? And in the movie, you can't see it because her costume is covering it. There's wires that are kind of holding, holding the whole thing up. And then there was going to be like wind machines, you know, blowing, obviously.

So it looks like she's flying through the air. And there was going to be smoke coming out behind her. And they told her, don't worry. It's totally safe. We haven't tried it yet, but it's safe. Now, Margaret, good for her. She was like, nope, I'm not buying it. She's like, if it's so safe, then why am I wearing a fireproof?

costume, you know, and they were like, we just want you to be extra safe. Yeah. But Margaret, she's like, I'm not doing it. No, I'm out. And good for her. She just got burned. Jesus. So obviously, production, they were very upset. And they even threatened to tell the head of the studio that Margaret was refusing to cooperate. And then Margaret tells them if they were in her shoes, the studio would be in the biggest lawsuit of their life. I imagine her being like Faye Dunaway and Mommy Dearest. Don't fuck with me, fellas. This ain't my first time.

Don't fuck with me, fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo. Something like that. So the director, Victor Fleming, who, fun fact, won an Oscar for directing Gone with the Wind. He tried to convince Margaret to get on the broom. Just get on the broom, Margaret.

Margaret, just get on the broom. It's safe. Again, Margaret said, Don't fuck, whack me. She said, no, thank you. I've had all the fire I want at your hands. I have a little boy. I'm his sole support.

And I do not intend to jeopardize my life further. Very professional. So finally, they convinced her to ride the broom for close-ups without the smoke pipe that was connected. So she's strapped in, raised up, wind machine, broom rocking and rolling. She does her performance, the cackles, all that stuff.

They get their footage, great, boom. But MGM, they still wanted someone in the air riding the smoke broom. So they decided to get a stunt double for Margaret named Betty Danko. So Margaret sees Betty getting into her costume and she goes up to her and she's like, are you doing the broom shot? And Betty was like, well, yeah, yeah, I mean, I'm getting paid for it. And Margaret said, quote, I hope it's worth it, dear. So Margaret goes home, she's sitting there.

Poor thing probably has some creams on to help with the burns. And less than an hour after she gets home, the phone rings. There's been an accident, an accident on the set of the Wizard of Oz. After a long day researching, writing, filming, you know, sometimes I get home, well, a lot of the times I get home exhausted. Then I open the fridge and I look inside and it's like, oh great, I have ketchup and an onion. Cool. Love that. You know, and I don't want to order delivery because then I feel lazy and it's super expensive and then I'm just like, so I'm just going to starve or eat the onion.

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Turns out Betty Danko, she's in the hospital. Margaret's like, I fucking told you. Betty's experience on the broom that day was almost an exact replica of what happened to Margaret earlier. I guess the first two takes worked perfectly. But then the director, Victor Fleming, he didn't like how Betty's cape was pinned down to, like, hide the smoke pipe. So they moved the pipe and had it remounted kind of like more directly beneath Betty's body. And then they covered it the contraption with asbestos just to be safe. Now, we all know asbestos, what are you doing?

But they didn't know back then, okay? But asbestos provided insulation, meaning it was not flammable and it kept things cool, which is why they put it over the smoke pipe to keep anything from catching on fire. So they thought, you know. But on the very next take, the pipe exploded. under the saddle, Betty was thrown off the broom and she not only was badly burned, she was injured. Victor, the director, was probably like,

well, you know, you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette, am I right? Good thing, she's just a stunt devil. So Betty ends up in the hospital, just like Margaret, Margaret Hamilton. Deja broom. Deja broom. So, oopsie, you know, we've mentioned four people who were badly injured by makeup,

mainly makeup, but also obviously the stunts. And you would hope that the studio would maybe at this point, you know, take some extra measures to make sure that moving forward, everything would be safe. but choices were made. So after the explosions, the fire, the hospitalizations, you'd think they might like calm things down on set, but of course not. So now we're entering the scene in the movie

where everyone is in the magical poppy field and they get really sleepy and they, you know, pass out. It's so dreamy, beautiful, cinematic. but um oopsie so i guess back in the 1920s people were using cotton to recreate fake snow on christmas trees and like on movie sets but then in 1928 firefighters made an announcement that putting cotton and stuff like on the trees made them extremely flammable so hollywood panicked and they're like oh no like what are we going to do and decided you know they needed to figure a different way to do snow.

So they tested salt, flour, they painted corn flakes, tried that. Salt you can't see, flour, I don't know what happened there, probably just looked powdery and weird. And then the corn flakes were too loud, literally. You know, the actors would be talking and walking and all you would hear was like

crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, if anyone was moving. on set, so it wasn't working. So instead, they went with chrysotile asbestos. So, you know, this asbestos was soft, it was white, and it looked just like real snow. The best part about it, it didn't burn, it wasn't loud, and it just worked. Yeah, you know, yeah, we did it. Asbestos snow was actually so popular in the 30s and 40s that people, everyday people, were buying it in bulk to decorate their Christmas trees at home with it. You know, you'd be like, let's add snow to the tree. But at the time when they were selling it to the everyday person, they kind of had some interesting names that sound like low-key, something you would buy off the street.

It was called like Snowdrift and Pure White. You'd buy it and then you would like, you know, add it onto your tree or wherever. It was exciting. It was fun and it looked good. Who doesn't like a pretty tree? Anyways, in the poppy scene, you see all the characters laying down in the poppies, and that's when, you know, production, however they did it, they dropped the snow, aka asbestos.

So everyone's just like doing their part acting, and they're, inhaling and breathing in this chemical. Yeah, not great. And we don't know how many takes they shot of that scene, but I imagine it wasn't just one. Here's the thing, that beautiful, magical asbestos is now known to cause a horrible cancer called mesothelioma. So they didn't know that yet. They just thought it was cute snow. Basically, when you breathe it in, it's like tiny shards of glass. It shreds your lungs slowly and it never leaves your body. And asbestos wasn't just in the snow. I mean, it was all over the set. The man who played the scarecrow, his name was Ray Bulger, and his suit was actually made from asbestos. Specifically for the scene

where the wicked witch sets him on fire. You know, when his arm catches on fire and he's like, uh, uh, uh, uh, they just used it for everything. They didn't know. They didn't know as bad. Not yet. And I know some of you at home I'd be thinking, well, you know, at least, I hope they got paid well at least. You know, hopefully they got that. Well, Toto was. But for everyone else, honestly, I don't know if it was worth it. You know, especially if you were cast as a munchkin.

I don't know about you guys, but I was very curious about those who were cast as a munchkin. And based off my quick research, I read. read about how the actors cast as munchkins were, the rumors were that they were wild, they were a horny group who liked to get drunk, throw crazy parties, have sexual relations in stairwells, and needed to be wrangled by the police with literal butterfly nets. And I was like, this can't be, this can't be real, no. And if you haven't heard those rumors, Well, now you have. I mean, that's what people said.

The truth was that MGM brought in about 124 little people to play the Munchkins. Most of them came through a guy named Leo Singer, who had a troop of dancers and actors called, quote, unquote, Singers Midgets. That's what he called their group. He was like their manager, essentially. But it was more, it was controlling. It was very much like, hey, you guys, belong to me. I own you. I'm going to, like, rent you wow, and then you give me the money.

Okay? That's the deal. I'll give you some money, but I get most of the money. Okay, great. So most of these performers, they were from Germany and Austria. So almost none of them spoke English. So a lot of them were already at a disadvantage because this singer guy, he was doing all the negotiations, you know, like their manager on their behalf. And they were just told, like, don't worry, you'll get your cut, you know? Now, they were promised money, a hotel, a few weeks of work on like a big movie. So to them, this sounded great. I mean, a lot of these performers had never been in a movie before.

They'd only been on stage. Hollywood? Who would say no? Well, you know, it turns out a lot of them never actually saw their full paychecks because that singer guy kept a portion of it. A good portion. Of course he did. Each actor was paid about $35 to $50 a week. If they complained, like, hey, where's my money, you know?

They were told, hey, you should be grateful. You should be grateful that you're working on this large movie and working at all. Like, shut up. I saw online that Toto, the dog, was making $125 a week. And I was like, damn, really, the dog was making more. than the people playing the munchkins, like, what? I got clarification. Toto the dog didn't make $125 a week.

Instead, it was the dog trainer that got $125 a week. But still, you know? To be fair, though, like trying to get a dog to like, you know, do the right thing on a set. Kind of hard, right? So, okay, fine. Sure. Okay.

When they were filming, the actors who played the Munchkins were packed into old hotels around Culver City, which was like where the studio was located. And when I say packed, I mean, they were like, they were packed in there. Like multiple actors were expected to share a single hotel room. On top of that, the costumes were said to be very heavy, itchy, and almost impossible to get in and out of without someone helping them. And they weren't getting much assistance. because at one point one of the actors fell into a toilet and they could not get out.

Sorry. You want to, we're not going to laugh. Because that's not, have you ever fell into the toilet in the middle of the night because your partner left the toilet seat up and then you go like in the middle of the night, you don't want to turn on the lights because, you know, and then you sit down and you fall into the toilet.

When your butt hits that water, there's something about that. That's just not right. Anyway, so this actor, he falls into the toilet and he gets stuck. And no one found him until 45 minutes later. They're like, hey, where's that one guy? It's been gone for a while. So finally, someone finds him. Now, after this incident, the studio finally hired, like, attendance to assist them during production.

Apparently, people started buying these actors drinks. Imagine, I mean, you've had a long day. And now some producers trying to be funny handing you like six cocktails at once. You know, it's a long day. Someone's handing you cocktails to keep you happy. Come on, keep it up. Your energy needs to be up. You need to be exciting.

You're in Munchkin land. So imagine like you're drinking. You're drinking. You're drinking. Next thing you know, you're six cocktails in. Woof. So yes, apparently some of them did indeed. you'd get drunk.

I mean, who, I don't want to say who wouldn't? Because I know a lot of you would be like, I wouldn't. But back then, I mean, even now, if someone's handing you drink after drink and you're not, I don't know, whatever. And that's where, like, the rumors really started. Like, oh, the people playing the munchkins are just out of control. They're trashing the hotel. They're fighting over women.

Like, I guess they were just a wild group of actors. Now, years later, Judy Garland referred to them as drunks. She jokingly said that the studio had to send security guards out with butterfly nets to wrangle the actors. But honestly, Judy had a lot going on and maybe wasn't like the most reliable narrator when it came to what was going on on set. Part of the reason they were having so much fun was because some of the actors who were cast as, you know, the munchkins, some of them were not part of Leo Singer's group. So a lot of them had never met another little person before. So, you know, this is the first time they felt like they were surrounded by someone like them. So they're, of course, they're having a little fun.

Give me a cigar. The lollipumpkins! You know, hell yeah, I'll do that. So yes, maybe they were a little rowdy, but can you blame them? No, I don't know. Now, of course, while we're here in Munchkin Land, I know you want me to talk about the most notorious rumor of all. The Munchkin suicide myth. You know, after a long day when you get home and you just like put on your P-Js and you just want to crawl into bed and just watch trash TV, not be judged, be lazy, you know, oh, I love, that's my favorite hobby.

But the other day I went to go do that and I was like, my pajamas are, um, you know, They're not great. They're falling apart. They got holes all over them. They're really old. I really warm them down. And listen, if you're feeling the same, thankfully Skims is here to save the night. Skims has completely redefined what comfortable feels like. Their sleep set is next level. It's so soft. The moment I touched the fabric, I thought, ooh, this is different. You know, it's cozy. This is the definition of cozy. It drapes just perfectly. It's cool. It's not too hot. It's just right. I've been wearing the sleep set nonstop, lounging around the house, sipping my evening tea while I watch, you know, true crime documentaries. Um, yeah. They even have matching sets for men, kids, and your pets. Yeah, which makes holiday shopping super easy. So if you're tired of tossing and turning in pajamas that feel like sandpaper,

or cling in all the wrong places, or just like way too hot, skims is the upgrade you've been missing. Once you slip into their sleep set, you'll understand what exactly I'm talking about. Shop my favorite pajamas at skims.com. After you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you. Select podcasts in the survey, and be sure to select our show in the drop-down menu that follows. And if you're looking for perfect gifts for everyone on your list, the skims holiday shop is now open at skims.com. Listen, if you haven't heard this before, there is this long-running urban legend

where people say that during the um we're off to see the wizard you know that scene it's right after dorothy and the scarecrow meet the tin man and then they're skipping down the yellow brick road now allegedly in the background you can see hanging from a tree what looks to be a body some claim it's a it's someone who was playing a munchkin yes allegedly, the rumor is that an actual cast member took their own life, hanged themselves from a tree, and it was caught on film, and like, no one saw it in the final edit or whatever, and it's just been left in, or it was left in. Now, I love a good creepy Hollywood rumor. So when I first read this, like, years ago, I was all in, and I was like, oh, yeah, I see it. Yeah. Oh, my God. I was so like a believer. But this one's actually, okay, it's actually complicated. What actually happened was that, and you're not going to believe me, I know you. But listen, this is what actually happened, okay?

We dug, we asked questions, and we got answers. And what actually happened was that MGM wanted the set to feel more alive and outdoorsy. So they brought in actual birds from the Los Angeles Zoo. and then they let them loose on set. So it kind of felt, again, more like whimsical and ooh. And if you pay attention in some scenes, you can see like, there's a peacock wandering around and other birds. Yep, you can see animals.

But listen, so in this specific shot, what you're actually seeing in the background, believe me, Believe me, it's a crane flapping its wings off in the distance. I know, you're like, no, no, it's not, I know, it sounds, it's not as exciting. Years ago, someone on the internet tried to revive the whole thing by posting a clip they claimed was the original Wizard of Oz VHS cut. And in this video, the thing in the background is much larger and more dingly. The person who uploaded this or whatever claimed it was the real footage before MGM edited out the truth. And of course, again, like I was telling you, I saw it and I was like, oh my God.

Oh, my God. Yeah. But turns out it was, it is 100% doctored. It's not real. It's a fan edit that was made to look very convincing, stir up a crazy rumor, and we all believed it. It blew up like crazy.

Of course we believed it, because there are so many, like, creepy theories out there about all of your favorite childhood movies, right? Like the penises on the cover of the Little Mermaid? Or in the Little Mermaid, the Pope with the Boner? You know that scene? someone drew in a boner on the pope when the little mermaid and eric are getting married the pope has a boner the pope had a boner don't make excuses for it someone drew it in you had to draw it in it's not an accident the pope had a boner

do you understand anyways so of course like it's easy to believe anything the pope had a boner but then Sometimes I think about it, and like if I was drawing all day, I might, I'd be like, I'm going to put a boner and see if anyone catches it. And then, like, let's say you did do that. And then I would tell all my friends, like, watch, I drew in a boner. No one caught it. And, you know, the Lion King has that when the leaves are blowing and it spells out sex. I know you know what I'm talking about. So, of course, like, oh, my God, a guy who killed himself on set.

Oh, yeah, that's just another thing. Now, to this day, people swear they remember seeing, like, a person hanging in the background in the original version when they were kids. But apparently, it's a crane. I don't know why I'm still not convinced. Like, I know it's, okay, whatever, really. Let's say for a second, it did happen. The situation did happen. The person was hanging from a tree.

Realistically, when they were filming, they would have stopped, cut the person down, and shot the scene all over again. And you're thinking, but baby, it was hidden all the way way back there and no one saw it. I think you underestimate how small movie sets can be.

Have you ever been in the audience of The Price is Right? Oh, it will crush your dreams because it looks like such a big show and you get in there and it's like a small, tiny set. So the movie is made to look like there's so much depth

and it's this forest but realistically it's a smaller set, someone would have seen it. And then on top of that, the trees, they were props. And a lot of them, back in the day with classic movies, they would hand paint the backdrops. So a lot of them are just painted in, but most of all, the trees, they were made of foam, wire, and paint. So even if you did try to hang yourself from the tree, it would fall apart.

It wouldn't even be able to hold anything up. I know, I'm sorry. Debunked stamp of debunk, debunker, debunk of approval. I don't know. So the official explanation was that it's a bird. Yes. And most likely the version that you've seen, with like the person allegedly hanging from the tree

is the doctored version. I know, I know. You wanna believe, I'm so sorry. It's a bird. Now, of course, of course, you know, the most notorious rumors that came from the Wizard of Oz centered around their star Judy Garland, aka Dorothy.

Oh, poor Judy. You know when you have an amazing idea for a business in the middle of the night and you're like, yeah, I'm gonna do that. That's such a good idea. But then you realize, like, where do I start? What's step one? You know, these days, you have to have a strong online presence,

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send on-brand invoices, and even accept payments only one place. It's professional, seamless, and so easy. Before Squarespace, for many people, building, you know, a website online can be really confusing. But once you switch to Squarespace, not only will your website look beautiful, but it will be easy to navigate and update as well. So if you've been putting off creating your website because it feels very overwhelming, don't. Check out Squarespace.com slash dark history for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code dark history to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Apparently, Judy was not their first choice to play Dorothy. They originally wanted Shirley Temple, but Shirley Temple had other

obligations. So they brought on Judy Garland. And when they brought her on, they reminded her that she was like their second or third choice. Like they told her this. Put her in her place a bit. So, you know, poor Judy, she shows up and they're like, fine, we'll take Judy. She's so gross, whatever. And then they immediately tried to like turn her into Shirley Temple anyway, at least in the the first version of the movie. I say the first version because there were five different directors who worked on this movie. I know.

Victor did most of the directing work, so he's the one who got like the official credit. But the first director put Ms. Judy Garland in a blonde wig and they wanted her to look like Shirley Temple. They put caps on her teeth because they didn't like how her teeth looked. They put nose discs. in her nose and what that would do is give her a more like rounded youthful nose you can still buy them today nose desks i looked into them because i was like what is that and you insert them into

your nose and it gives you more of like a little button nose so they're they put caps on her teeth the thing up her nose now judy she was 16 at the time and you know developing so she was a little bit more curvy. She had round cheeks. She looked like a normal freaking teenager. But in the book, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was supposed to be 12 years old. 12 and 16 don't sound that far apart in age, but you know, some develop more than others. So they should have maybe hired a 12 year old. Instead, they picked Judy who was 16 and she looked different. So the studio, they really decided to blame everything on Judy. It's her weight. It's her nose. It's her teeth. It's her boobs. It's her everything. Everything. Everything. Everything. So all day, every day. She is reminded that she was second choice. Her nose is wrong. Her teeth are gross. Her hair is wrong. She's too old. She has chest. She's too fat. Her cheeks are puffy. They were so cruel to her. Okay? And I was thinking, like, could you imagine at the

16, hearing every single day how you are not good enough? At 16, you're always told to listen to the adults that are around you, right? And you don't question them. So could you imagine just every day? Like, wow, like, how would that not mess you up? Yeah. Okay. So I don't know why they picked on her so much.

Why don't they just hire someone else than, you assholes? But at a certain point, it was decided that Judy, she was too fat. And if you look at her, you're like, bitch, where? But they're like, she's too fat. So they put her in a corset and they like, you know, try to like snatch in her waist. They try to flatten her chest because she was growing breasts. And they wanted her to look more like she was a 12 year old. Listen, it was said that all anyone could talk about was how fat Judy was.

Studio executives literally called her the, quote, fat little pig with pigtails end quote so it's just it's so sad so mgm they put judy on a mandated diet she was only allowed to have black coffee chicken broth lettuce and cigarettes at 16 and because she was filming for a crazy long hours every single day they needed judy to have energy now to you and i were like yeah great so just give her some protein feeder She'll have energy. No, of course, no, they're not going to do that. This is where it gets controversial.

Now, the rumor was that Judy was given pep pills, aka amphetamines. These were given to her to help, you know, keep her up and awake on set. Some people say the studio gave her these pills, which was very common in Hollywood at the time, and, you know, just like casually passing them out like tic-tacks. You're tired, here.

You yawn, here, you're hungry, have another one. You're, you know, I'm bored. Here, ah, have another. The same year Judy worked on the Wizard of Oz, she was also filming another movie called Babes in Arms. Babes in arms? And apparently, both Judy and her co-star, Mickey Rooney, were pushed to, like, the breaking point on set. Now, other people say Judy's dependence on amphetamines and barbiturates

started even earlier in her career. Wizard of Oz wasn't her first film. She had been acting for quite some time. So, you know, some say that her mom was actually the one giving them to her. According to a Judy Garland biography called Get Happy, Judy's mom was the first person to provide pills, quote, both for energy and sleep. And the craziest part, according to this book,

Judy was only nine years old when this started. Apparently, Judy and her mom did not have, like, a great relationship, and she actually called her mom the real wicked witch of the West. That's so sad. So she doesn't have anyone around her who's actually supporting her and, like, there for her. Honestly, this is, like, next-level stage mom, right? You watch toddlers in Tierras. You know when the moms give, like, the kids the pixie sticks? Yeah, it's like that, but, like, way worse, right?

Paul. Paul has been in many pageants. And yes, maybe when I do his hair, makeup, tanning, dress him, I do maybe give him the pixie stick a little bit because he's got to get it together, Paul. We'll do anything for the crown. Honestly, though, I have thought about it. Like, the only reason I would want to have a kid

is so I could put them in pageants. I would be a stage bomb. Not like to this extent, but I love the idea. idea of like the makeup, the hair, the dresses, um, the, I would like help them do the dances. And then you would see me in the back like, honey, honey, honey. Yeah, I would love that. But not to this extent. No pills. Just pixie sticks. Um, anyways, don't do that. It's bad for the kids. Now, to be fair, to be fair, to be fair. Some people do not believe Judy was like ever taking drugs while shooting the Wizard of Oz. But the sad truth is

is that it like it must have started pretty soon after if it wasn't happening already because she gave us that direct quote when she was filming that other movie which happened like when she was filming the Wizard of Oz like the I don't know. So Judy's third husband, his name was Sid Luft, said quote most of her teen and adult life she had been on either benzadrine or a diet or both poor thing. Again, I can't imagine how like fucked up she got from all of these adults around her telling her that she wasn't good enough. Now Ben's a dream, um, it isn't sold anymore. It was an anphenamine that you can inhale or take as a pill. Um, it was an upper. So between the pills, the crashed diets and being told she wasn't good enough every single day, I mean,

something had to give. And one day on set, I mean, it finally did. when things between Judy and the director got physical. So Judy's on set one day. She's sleep deprived, hungry, squeeze into a corset, wearing disc in her nose, caps on her teeth. But, you know, for 16, she's a good sport and professional. So on this particular day, they were filming a scene where she was supposed to get angry with the cowardly lion

and, like, bop him on the nose. But the actor playing the lion, his name was Bert Lear, would do this like whimpering noise. I'm trying to recreate it, but I forget. And I guess it gave Judy the giggles when they were filming. And you know when you get the giggles and it's always out like the worst time

and then it's hard because sometimes you just keep giggling and you can't stop. I love when that happens. But she was giggling and she couldn't like, she couldn't stop. So she tried to like, you know, pull it together. But she kept giggling.

And after a few takes, the director, Victor, he was getting annoyed. They were wasting film. God damn it. So Victor goes directly up to Judy in front of everyone. He does not yell at her. He does not pull her aside. Instead, he just slapped her across the face, thinking he would snap her out of it.

And then apparently told her, like, go back to your dressing room. So she goes, she disappears. comes back a few minutes later and she does the scene, this time without laughing. So the director's like, see, that's why I slap people. It works. Now they say the Wizard of Oz really made Judy Garland a star and really like launched her career.

And I think we can all agree. But it was like at what price, you know? And I was thinking once again being like, well, I hope she at least got paid well. You know? Not that it makes it better, but like I hope she at least got paid well. She had to. She was the star of the Wizard of Voss. So I'm guessing like she probably made millions, right? No. No. No. No. No. No. Judy Garland was paid $9,600 in total. Period. Yep.

$100. I'm just processing because it's like, what? Hey, at least it's more than Toto. You know? Now, okay, I was like, okay, it's $9,600. That's back then money. So hopefully at least she was the highest paid actor in the movie, right? She's the star.

No. No. No. I kept looking for like something to hold on to here. No. Oh, it turns out pretty much all the other main characters, like the scarecrow, the tin man, the lion, everyone got paid more than she did. The scarecrow and the tin man each got paid eight times the amount of what she did. And then poor Judy Garland.

I mean, she had a wonderful, amazing career, but we all, you know, she really struggled. And I think when you look at how the studio and these people around her were treating her, how it's like, Like, how could she not turn out the way she did? Where was her support system in all this? Oh, it's just so sad. So yes, The Wizard of Oz, a movie that gave us beauty, glamour, fantasy, Ruby slippers, flying monkeys, amazing costumes and makeup and sets. Oh, you know, some of the most iconic moments in cinema history.

And behind the scenes, you know, at the scenes, you know, at the end of the day, it was a big learning lesson, you know, as far as like what not to do with the makeup and asbestos, oops, sorry about that, the fireballs, the malfunctioning, trap doors, the pills, the paint, the poppies, the powder, the slapping, the body shaming. I mean, honestly, it's kind of a miracle of this movie ever made it, they even finished it, really, let alone become like one of the most beloved films of all time. And yet, Somehow, out of all that chaos, we got this movie that just really completely changed

the film industry and Hollywood forever. It set the bar real high for what movies could look like and what they could feel like. And on top of that, it showed people in the middle of the Great Depression, a beautiful, colorful world where good triumphed over evil. And people held onto that vision

and that feeling this movie gave them, for decades, still to this day. So, I mean, was it all worth it? Yes, great movie. I'm sorry. I mean, we know not, we know don't do that, but like it was such a great movie. It's such a great movie.

I love that movie. Every time I watch it, I get emotional. It's just so touching. At the end of the day, there's no movie like it, and there's no place like home. Somewhere over the rainbow, asbestos sky. The tin man is in an iron lung, but thank God that no one died. It was a bird.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I nailed that. Thank you. Now listen, next episode, we are talking about one of my kind of, ooh, favorite topics. Colts. Oh, yes. Fascinating. Interesting. Why? Who joins them? How come? What is it? Why? Listen, the other day I was, you know, Googling and goggling as I do, and I came across of a cult I had never heard of. And that's rare. It was a cult dedicated to the teachings of a man named Father Divine. A very controversial figure who was just as famous as Martin Luther King Jr. back in the day. Now, he was a hero to millions of people across the world, but I never really heard about him or his cult. And the most fascinating part of all, Father Divine, inspired Jim Jones of Jonestown.

It's wild. I can't wait to hear your reactions to it, so join me next episode. as we talk about the strange, important, and wild life of Father Divine. By the way, we're dark next week, so there won't be a new upload, but our next episode about Father Divine will be back on November 26, which is my birthday. So you better wish me a happy birthday in the comment section. Thank you so much. Now, I would love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story.

So make sure to leave a comment down below so I can see what you guys are. are saying, and your comment might even be featured in a future episode. Now, let's read a couple of comments that you guys have left me. Athena Callahan 5136 left us a comment on YouTube saying, quote, I just realized you remind me of Fran from the Nanny, but make her have a dark aesthetic. End quote. Thank you so much. That means a lot.

I was going to try and do a Fran impression, but I can't seem to do it. Hi. Wait, hi. Um, I'm not confident in my ability to do this. Okay, he-he-ha-ha. She's, Miss, uh-e-oh-e-oh-a-ha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a. It's a hard one for me. She's an icon.

She's a legend. I've always loved her hair and her outfits. I'll take it. Thank you so much. That means a lot. Sorry, my impression game for Miss Fran. Ha-ha-ha-ha. It's probably as good as it's going to get.

Kylie commented on our earthquakes episode on Spotify, saying, quote, When Fukushima happened, my mom started prepping for end of days and made me and my sister take iodine drops and said, if we didn't, our kids would be deformed from the radiation. And now I am a prepper, end quote. So were you in the area when it happened or you just saw, your mom saw it happening and then she started prepping? Iodine, iodine, iodine, iodine. Should you be taking that? Is that okay? Do you have kids? Are they okay? And now you're a prepper? Okay, listen, I don't judge. If you want to be a doomsday prepper and you want to prep, go for it as long as you're not hurting anybody else. Okay, or force. Do you have kids? I'm kind of concerned. Okay, but here's the thing. I thought, I think of it like this. We're all afraid of the end of the world. But the end of the world. is coming regardless, because when you die, that is the end of the world. So whether it's an apocalypse or you just die of, I don't know, a heart attack or whatever,

it's just the end of the world. So you can prep all you want, but either way, you're still going to die, and that's going to be the end of the world. So you might as well just live your life, because either way, the end of the world will happen. Do you get what I'm saying? Either way, you're going to die. So, just, just, it's okay. Don't prep too much.

Um, eat a chicken McNucket. Ooh, stock up on, um, Twinkies because those last forever. You're welcome for that little tidbit. Ephemoral style left us an episode suggestion over on Spotify. Would you consider doing an episode on multi-level marketing companies if you haven't already? Like from Avon ladies up to Lula Row. I find it really interesting for sure. Did you watch that documentary about Lula Bro?

I know you did. I know you did. If you didn't, you need to watch it. It was so good. They had this little group chat called like the Skinny Girls Group. It was very culty. It was very culty. I don't like MLMs.

They're very predatory. They take advantage of people and it's a trap. And I don't like them. But they're kind of very similar to, cults in a way, they won't say that. But like the mentality, the way it's structured, it gives culty, right? And remember when Lula Row was like first popular and everyone was hitting up, hitting you up on Facebook, trying to get you to buy freaking leggings? And it was like, I don't need leggings. Please, please stop. Please stop. Thank you for the suggestion. I will get right on it.

And if you haven't, you should watch a documentary about Lula Bro. That was really good. Mm-hmm. Thank you so much for watching and hanging out with me and engaging. Keep on commenting because maybe your comment will be featured in a future episode. Hey, did you know that you can join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes? Yeah, like on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, you can catch my murder, mystery, and makeup.

Don't forget to subscribe because I'm, I'm. I'm always here for you. And if you didn't know, dark history is an audio boom original. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good day today. You make good choices, and I'll be talking to you real soon. Goodbye.